Coin-operated locker cabinet



Filed March 15, 1961 LO CK RELEAiE MAGNET INVENTOR 32w! BY Ill.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,128,866 691V-PERATED LOCKER CABINET Fred Ratowsky, Harrisburg, Pa assignor to National Cleaning Equipment Corporation, Harrisburg, Pa, a corporation of Delaware Filed 15, 1961, Ser. No. 95,899 4 Claims. (til. 194-16) This invention relates to coin-operated devices and more particularly to coin-controlled locker cabinets.

With the advent of shopping centers there is a growing trend to self-service stores for laundry and dry-cleaning services. In the case of dry-cleaning, the development of self-service stores has been somewhatlimited in view of the specialized nature of the dry-cleaning machines and their operation. Nevertheless, modern high-speed drycleaning machines are ideally suited to the so-called while you wait service. Self-service techniques can be adapted to the handling of the articles to be cleaned as between the customer and attendant or operator of the drycleaning machines where while you wait service is offered. Self-service techniques can also be applied to the collection of money charges for dry-cleaning services rendered.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a coin-controlled arrangement for handling objects to be cleaned as between the customer and the cleaning machine attendant and for collecting the money charges for the services rendered.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coincontrolled clothes-receiving locker having signaling arrangements for signaling the cleaning machine attendant when clothes are deposited in the locker for the cleaning and for signaling the customer when the cleaned clothes are redeposited in the locker for delivery to the customer.

In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, a clothes-receiving locker is provided with first and second doors which may be front and back doors, respectively. One or more of such locker units may be placed in a dividing wall between the customers lobby or lounge and the cleaning room of a self-service drycleaning store with the front door opening into the lobby and the rear door opening into the cleaning room. A spring lock is provided for the front door together with electromagnetically energized release means for the lock. A coin-operated switch of any suitable type is provided to energize the front door lock release when the correct amount of money to pay for the cleaning is deposited in the coin switch. At the same time, signal lights over both doors are illuminated. The customer may then open the front door and place the clothes to be cleaned within the locker. Thereafter, the dry-cleaning machine attendant, upon seeing the illuminated signal light over the rear door, may open the rear door and remove the clothes for cleaning. After cleaning, the attendant replaces the clothes in the locker and manually operates an attendants switch adjacent the rear door to operate the control circuit of the invention in a manner to extinguish both front and rear signal lights, thus signaling the customer that the clothes are ready. At the same time, the front door release is again energized so that the customer may open the front door. The control circuit arrangement may be such that each time the front door is opened, the lock release is deenergizedso that when the front door is thereafter closed it will be locked by the spring lock. Also, in one form of the invention, the arrangement may be such that "ice the operation of the attendants switch will not only extinguish the front and rear signal lights but will illuminate a customer signal to remain lighted until the customer opens the front door to remove the cleaned clothes.

Although the locker cabinet arrangement of the invention is specifically adapted for use in dry-cleaning stores, it should be obvious that the arrangement may be used for other purposes.

Further objects, features and the attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent with reference to the following specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of the locker arrangement of the invention as may be installed in a self-service dry-cleaning store; and

FIG. 2 is a wiring diagram of the control circuit for use with the invention.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a set of three coin-controlled locker cabinets in accordance with the invention, are shown as they may be positioned in the wall partition 10 between a lobby or lounge 11 of a dry-cleaning store or the like, and the cleaning room 12. Since each of the three locker cabinets are substantially identical, only one of them will be described in detail. The cabinet is provided with a first or front door 15 and a second or rear door 16. The arrangement may be such, in relation to a building wall or partition, that the front door 15 opens into the customer lounge while the rear door 16 opens into the cleaning room 12.

A conventional coin collector 17 is provided on the front wall of the cabinet adjacent the front door 15 of the locker unit being described. It will be understood that each locker unit is provided with its own coin-collecting appuatus. The coin-collecting apparatus 17 includes a switch that may be momentarily operated when the correct denomination of coins is deposited to energize the electro-magnetic release means for the spring latch lock for the front door 15. The lock release means is shown only in FIGURE 2 of the drawings but it should be understood that any conventional arrangement may be employed.

First and second signal lights 20 and 21 are placed over the front and back doors 15, 16, respectively. An attendants switch 22 is placed adjacent the rear door 16 and similar manually-operated switches are placed adjacent the respective rear doors of the other locker units. In addition, each locker unit front door, such as the front door 15 is provided with a door switch such as the door switch 23 having normally closed contacts to be opened each time the front door is opened. In addition, in one embodiment of the invention, another signal light 24 may be provided adjacent the front door of each unit.

The control circuit shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings enables each locker unit together with the lock, electro-magnetic release for the lock, coin-collection apparatus, and signal lights, to function in the manner hereinafter described.

Upon depositing the requisite amount of money in the coin-collection apparatus, the electro-magnetic release for the lock of the front door of the selected locker unit is energized to enable the customer to open the front door 15. At the same time, both signal lights 20 and 21 are energized to be illuminated, signaling that the locker is in use and that clothes are deposited therein for cleaning. The dry-cleaning attendant in the cleaning room 12 thereupon opens the rear door 16 to remove the clothes for cleaning. After the clothes have been cleaned, the

attendant replaces the clothes in the locker and operates the attendants switch 22 which, by means of the control circuit of the invention to be described, deenergizes lights 20 and 21 and reenergizes the electro-magnetic release for the lock for the front door 15. The customer, upon seeing the extinguishment of the light 20 thereupon opens the front door and removes the cleaned clothes. As will be described in more detail in connection with the circuit of FIGURE 2, the locking arrangement for the front door 15 is such that each time the door 15 is closed, the spring latch functions to lock the door. Thereafter, the front door may only be opened upon operation of either the attendants switch 22 after the clothes have been cleaned or operation of the coin-collection switch 17. Obviously, the coin-collection switch will not be operated, except by mistake, if the signal light is illumihated, since the signal light 26 indicates that the locker 1s m use.

In a modified arrangement of the invention, as will be described hereinafter in connection with the detailed description of the circuit shown in FIGURE 2, the signal light 24 (which may be of a different color than that of signal light 29) may be energized upon the operation of the attendants switch 22 to thereby indicate to the customer that the clothes have been cleaned or the service rendered, thus giving a further indication, in addition to the indication previously mentioned that is obtained when the signal light 20 is extinguished.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the coin switch 50 is momentarily closed when the correct denomination of coin is deposited in the coin collection device, and serves to connect the electrical power appearing across terminals 51 and 52 to the coin relay coil 53, which thereupon operates and closes its normally open contacts 54 to complete a locking circuit for the coin delay 53 through normally closed contacts 23 of the front door switch. The operation of the coin relay 53 also closes its normally open contacts 55 to complete a circuit for energizing the lock release magnet 56, thus unlocking the front door 15. Also, the operation of the relay 53 closes normally open contacts 57 to complete a circuit to operate the signal relay 60. The signal relay 60, upon operation, closes its normally open contacts 61 to complete a holding circuit therefor through the normally closed contacts 71 of attendants relay 70. At the same time, contacts 62 of signal relay 60 are closed to complete the circuit for energizing the signal lists 20 and 21 for the front and back doors, respectively.

As soon as the customer opens the front door 15, the normally closed contacts of the door switch 23 are opened to break the holding circuit for the coin relay 53 which is thereupon restored, thereby deenergizing the lock release magnet 56 so that the front door will be locked when it is again closed. However, the signal relay 60 remains operated by its holding circuit through its closed contacts 61. When the attendant has completed the service required and replaced the clothes in the locker, he momentarily closes the attendants switch contacts 22 which completes a circuit to operate the attendants relay 70 through the closed contacts 62 of the signal relay 60. The operation of the attendants relay 70, however, opens its normally closed contacts 71, which breaks the holding circuit for the signal relay 60 causing that relay to restore, opening its contacts 62 to extinguish the front and back door signal lights 20 and 21.

At the same time, the operation of the attendants relay 70 closes its normally open contacts 72 to again energize the lock release magnet 56 enabling the front door 15 to be opened by the customer for removal of the cleaned clothes. At the same time, the operation of the attendants relay 70 may close its contacts 73 to energize the additional signal light 24 for signaling the completion of the services when desired. It will be noted that the attendants relay 70 remains energized after the momentary operation of the attendants switch 22 through its holding circuit including its operated contacts 74 and ti o normally closed front door switch contacts 23. As soon as the customer opens the front door 15 to remove the clothes, however, the momentary opening of the door switch contacts 23 breaks the holding circuit for the attendants relay 76 which thereupon restores to deenergize the lock release magnet 56 and the additional signal light 24 when provided. Thereafter, when the front door 15 is closed, it remains locked until the locker unit is again used by the deposit of additional coin in the coin-collection switch mechanism 17.

Although the invention has been specifically described in connection with its use for self-service stores such as dry-cleaning and laundry stores, it should be obvious that the coin-controlled locker unit arrangements of the invention may be adapted to various other uses. Also, it should be understood that the particular arrangement of signal lights may be modified within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. For example, the signal light 24 may be omitted and circuit arrangements may be provided to connect the signal light 20 for a blinking operation so long as the attendant relay 70 remains operated, thus signaling the completion of the services desired.

What is claimed is:

1. A coin-operated locker cabinet having a first door and a second door, said first door having a spring latch lock, electro-magnetically energized release means for said lock, a first signal light visible with said first door, a second signal light visible with said second door, a coinoperated switch, means responsive to the operation of said coin switch to energize said lock release means and said first and second signal lights, means responsive to the opening of said first door for deenergizing said lock release means, a manually-operated switch adjacent said second door, and means responsive to the operation of said manually-operated switch for energizing said lock release means and deenergizing said first and second lights.

2. A coin-operated locker cabinet having a front door and a back door, said front door having a spring latch lock, electro-magnetically energized release means for said lock, a first signal light visible with said front door, a second signal light visible with said back door, a coinoperated switch, means responsive to the operation of said coin switch to energize said lock release means and said first and second signal lights, means responsive to the opening of said front door for deenergizing said lock release means, a manually operated switch adjacent said back door, and means responsive to the operation of said manually-operated switch for energizing said lock release means and deenergizing said first and second lights.

3. A coin-operated locker cabinet having a first door and a second door, said first door having a spring latch lock, electro-magnetically energized release means for said lock, a first signal light visible with said first door, a second signal light visible with said second door, a coin-operated switch, means responsive to the operation of said coin switch to energize said lock release means and said first and second signal lights, means responsive to the opening of said first door for deenergizing said lock release means, a manually-operated switch adjacent said second door, means responsive to the operation of said manually-operated switch for energizing said lock release means and for deenergizing said first and second lights, and means responsive to the opening of said first door after the operation of said manually-operated switch for deenergizing said lock release means.

4. A coin-operated locker cabinet having a front door and a back door, said front door having a spring latch lock, electro-magnetically energized release means for said lock, a first signal light visible with said front door, a second signal light visible with said back door, a comoperated switch, means responsive to the operation of said coin switch to energize said lock release means and 5 said first and second signal lights, means responsive to the opening of said front door for deenergizing said lock release means, a manually-operated switch adjacent said back door, means responsive to the operation of said manually-operated switch for energizing said lock release means and for deenergizing said first and second lights, and means responsive to the opening of said front door References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Zsoldos July 12, 1927 Timms July 30, 1957 

1. A COIN-OPERATED LOCKER CABINET HAVING A FIRST DOOR AND A SECOND DOOR, SAID FIRST DOOR HAVING A SPRING LATCH LOCK, ELECTRO-MAGNETICALLY ENERGIZED RELEASE MEANS FOR SAID LOCK, A FIRST SIGNAL LIGHT VISIBLE WITH SAID FIRST DOOR, A SECOND SIGNAL LIGHT VISIBLE WITH SAID SECOND DOOR, A COINOPERATED SWITCH, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OPERATION OF SAID COIN SWITCH TO ENERGIZE SAID LOCK RELEASE MEANS AND SAID FIRST AND SECOND SIGNAL LIGHTS, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OPENING OF SAID FIRST DOOR FOR DEENERGIZING SAID LOCK RELEASE MEANS, A MANUALLY-OPERATED SWITCH ADJACENT SAID 